Austria Security Threats

Data and information about security threats from the black market in Austria. Threats and security issues collected from intelligence and security agencies, news articles and other public information sources.

An investigation by the New York Times found that Al Queada and its affiliates have taken at least $125 million in revenue from kidnapping for ransom since 2008. Roughly half, or $66 Million, was paid out in 2013.

The United States Treasury put the total at $165 million for the same period.

Since 2008, the following countries have paid Al Qaeda the following amounts (given in 2014 US dollars) for releasing kidnapped citizens:

According to a 2010 study, 78 percent of the sex workers in Austria are not Austrian women and are from foreign countries. In Germany, 63 percent of the sex workers were foreign women, with two thirds of the sex workers originating from Central and Eastern Europe. Previously, the number of foreign sex workers in Germany was 52 percent in 1999.

In total, there are about 400,000 prostitutes working in Germany, with 93 percent being female.

Germany legalized prostitution in 2002, and prostitution in Austria has been taxed since 1986.

A study by the opposition Green Party in Austria stated that corruption created a $22 Billion (€17 Billion) economic impact on the country’s economy. The effect of corruption was about 5 percent of Austria’s total economic output.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Austria has not convicted a single citizen for foreign bribery crimes since the country ratified the Anti-Bribery Convention in 1999.

Authorities in Austria arrested 9,812 people who were attempting to illegally enter the country in 2011, an increase of 44 percent from 2010.The majority of the people attempting to illegally enter the country were from Afghanistan, Russia and Pakistan.

Police also arrested 288 human smugglers in 2011. The human smugglers were originally from Greece, Turkey and Austria.

A report by the Association for the Reintegration of Women in Prostitution (APRAMP) stated that 39 percent of Spanish men have paid for the services of a prostitute at least once.

Following Spain, the next four highest usage of prostitution by male citizens of the country were Switzerland (19 percent of men), Austria (15 percent), Netherlands (14 percent), and Sweden (13 percent).

An estimated 700,000 women work as prostitutes across the European Union.